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tions, and if you identify any discrepancies, fix the issue immediately. When an employee requests pay scale information, ensure it is provided promptly.

The second part of the wage transparency regulation applies to employers with 100 or more employees and their requirement to provide pay data reporting to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). Employers in this category began providing pay data to CRD last year; however, SB 1162 adds additional reporting requirements which are substantial. Additional changes are as follows:

Requires a private employer that has 100 or more employees hired through labor contractors within the prior calendar year to file a Labor Contractor Employee Report covering the employees hired through labor contractors in the prior calendar year. The employer must also disclose the ownership names of all labor contractors used to supply employees. Labor contractors are required to supply all necessary pay data to the employer.

Requires that Payroll Employee Reports and Labor Contractor Employee Reports include the mean and median hourly rate of employee groupings (that is, groupings of employees with the same establishment, job category, race/ ethnicity and sex.)

Eliminated the option for an employer to submit a federal EEO-1 report to CRD in satisfaction of its state pay data reporting requirement.

Changes the annual deadline for submitting pay data reports to the second Wednesday of each May.

Authorizes CRD to obtain penalties against employers that fail to timely file their pay data reports, as well as against labor contractors that fail to provide data to client employers who must submit Labor Contractor Employee reports.

If you have over 100 employees, which includes farm labor contract employees, be sure to start this process early. There are several resources on the CRD website, including excel spreadsheet examples. To review templates, resources and FAQs, please visit calcivilrights.ca.gov/paydatareporting/.

These are just a few of the new laws and regulations which will impact the industry in 2023. It is always a best practice to check in with your counsel annually to ensure your employee handbook reflects applicable regulations and your workplace practices are compliant. This practice can be costly; however, when considering liability and penalties for non-compliance, it is a strategic use of financial resources and mitigates risk. If you have questions or need assistance with implementing any of these new laws and regulations, please contact us at safeinfo@agsafe. org or call us at 209-526-4400 and we would be delighted to assist. article@jcsmarketinginc.com

Since its formation in 1991, AgSafe has trained over 100,000 growers, farm labor contractors, packers, shippers and processors, along with their supervisors and workers, in the most critical safety, health, human resources and pesticide compliance issues.